Prince William’s hilarious celebration caught on camera

Prince William’s exuberant football celebration went viral on social media and sparked a few jokes from fans.

The Prince of Wales has travelled to Germany to watch England take on Switzerland in the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2024.

England trailed 1-0 in the 75th minute, raising fears of elimination, not least because goals have not come easily to them so far in the tournament.

But five minutes later England equalised, sending the fans wild, including the future king.

Prince William, in his capacity as president of the FA, English football’s governing body, was seen shouting with joy and punching the air.

The incident sparked jokes on social media and was picked up by pundits during the BBC’s coverage of the match. One fan posted the moment on TikTok, in a video that has been viewed more than 820,000 times.

Presenter Gary Lineker played the clip and said: “I think we have the royal approval as well. And there you have it, yeah.”

Former England player Rio Ferdinand replied: “I love it. There was a bit of anger in there, wasn’t there?”

One comment on the TikTok clip reflected: “He’s just going through what the rest of England is going through!!!! It doesn’t matter if he’s royal or not… he’s one of us!!”

Another reply read: “The guy forgot who he was for a minute,” while a third said: “His face before the goal, he was stressed like the rest of us.”

Some on social media joked that William was reminiscent of the less respectable England fans, who are sometimes seen engaging in acts of violence outside stadiums.

The Twitter account of Matt Lucas, a famous British comedian, wrote: “England have been let down again by skinhead hooligan fans. Can anyone identify this thug?” in a post that has been viewed over 1.5 million times. It’s worth noting, however, that his account states that it is run by his team.

And some fans superimposed the photo of William celebrating over scenes of football fan brawls. “Who did this (crying laughing emoji),” wrote one account on X, alongside the photo of William celebrating. pictureThe post has been viewed more than 1.1 million times.

Prince William’s role as FA president means he is a regular at England matches and often brings Prince George, who turns 11 this month, with him.

However, the young royal, who is second in line to the throne, remained at home on Saturday.

England won the match at the Düsseldorf Arena, but only after a tight penalty shootout, thus qualifying for the semi-finals.

Prince William wrote on X: “Nail biting until the end. Well done @England! We’re in the semi-finals! We believe. W.”

Jack Royston is the chief royal correspondent for Newsweekbased in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook Page.

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